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^ l^eport to tf)e ^etretarp of War 



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American iHilitarp Beati (l^berseasi 



RALPH HAYES 
WASHINGTON 
MAY 14, 1920 



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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND REPLY. 



Washington, D. C, May 12, 1920. 
The Honorable the Secretary of War. 

Sir : Pursuant to your instructions of February 13, 1920, to assist 
in effecting a Franco-American agreement on repatriating our mili- 
tary dead and to suggest those burial places most suitable for perma- 
nent retention, I sailed for Europe on February 19, returned to 
America on April 30, and present herewith an informal report. 
Eespectfully yours, 

Ralph Hayes, 
Assistant to the Secretary of War. 



War Department, 

Washington^ May 20., 1920. 
Mr. Hayes: 

The recommendations in this report, numbered 1 to 7, are hereby 
approved, with the reservation that the permanence of the cemetery 
at Bony will be determined later, when we have accurate informa- 
tion as to the number of soldier dead associated with British mili- 
tary operations to be retained in Europe. 

I direct that this report be published immediately, in convenient 
form for distribution to the relatives and friends of our soldier dead 
abroad, in order that an accurate and detailed picture of all the 
conditions may be fully known to them. 

Neavton D. Baker, 

/Secretary of War. 




BURIAL PLACES OF AMERICAN MILITARY DEAD 
NOW IN FRANCE 



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THE THREE PROPOSED PERMANENT CEMETERIES FOR 
AMERICAN MILITARY DEAD IN FRANCE 



CONTENTS. 



1. War Department's Policy Regarding Return of Military Remains. 

2. Public Opinion on the Disposition of Military Remains. 

3. Franco- American Negotiations, June, 1918-February, 1920. 

4. Franco-American Negotiations, March-April, 1920. 

5. Caring for the Graves of the F.\llen. 

6. The Fields of Honor. 

7. A War Memorials Council. 

8. Summary of Recommend.\t[ons. 



AMERICAN MILITARY DEAD OVERSEAS. 



I. POLICY OF WAR DEPARTMENT REGARDING RETURN 
OF MILITARY DEAD. 

One need not search lon<>' or far to find curious misimpressions re- 
garding the intention of the Government ^Yith respect to the disposi- 
tion of American military remains. There is a feeling, vague, but 
rather widely spread, that the actual care of American remains in 
France is in the hands, or at least under the supervision, of the French 
Republic. There is some prevalence of a fear also that those remains 
not returned to America will be abandoned eventually overseas, or 
that their care will consist only in such sporadic attention as the 
willingness of local authorities or the efforts of interested relatives 
may make possible. 

It is proper therefore to restate once again the attitude of the 
War Department. 

Those military remains, whose return is requested by their nearest 
of kin, will be returned to America and to the location designated by 
the relatives, at the expense of the Government. Those, whose return 
from France is not requested or whose permanent retention there is 
desired by the families concerned, will rest in a small number of 
American fields of honor, in areas permanently assigned for ceme- 
terial purposes to the United States and under the constant and per- 
petual care of the American Government. 

This attitude of the War Department has been stated repeatedly* 
To quote from one of a number of similar announcements, the Secre- 
tary of War wrote in January, 19^0: 

The department wishes to repeat and emphasize the fact that it is pledg;ed 
to return to America all those bodies which the nearest of kin desire brouglit 
back. It is pledged likewise to care fittingly and tenderly for those whose rela- 
tives desire them to rest in the Fields of Honor, which will iMintain all bodies to 
be retained overseas. 

In the British Isles (where about 3 per cent of our dead rest) only 
those remains are being left at present whose retention has been re- 
quested. But negotiations are in progress with the French Govern- 
ment for permission to remove military dead from Great Britain to 
the permanent American burial places in France. If these negotia- 
tions are successful it is probable that all bodies in the British Isles 
not requested to be returned to America or to eventual ]3rivate cus- 

11 



12 American Military Dead Overseas 

tody Avill be concentrated in the Fields of Honor in northern France. 
From Germany all bodies in the care of the Government %yill be re- 
moved either to the United States or to the permanent American ceme- 
teries abroad. 

I do not hesitate to say that the si<rht of actual disinterments, how- 
ever reverently made, and the vision of the Fields of Honor have left 
with me the fervent hope that the proportion of parents preferring; 
to have their sons rest overseas will be larfje. But, officially, no officer 
of the War Department can permit such a hope to defeat or delay 
the redemption of the pledge made at the war's beginning, that the 
desire of the families as to their own dead Avould take precedence over 
every other consideration. 

The movement of those remains which are to return is begun. The 
first bodies from England were shipped in late February. The first 
shijiment from France started in early April. The initial evacuations 
from Germany will be made in May. 

Following the determination upon the permanent sites of the 
American Fields of Honor overseas, the work of beautifying them 
may be pushed forward speedily, in order that they may serve alike 
as a symbol of a Nation's gratitude to its departed sons and a 
demonstration to all peoples for all time of America's response to a 
great threat. 

II. PUBLIC OPINION ON THE DISPOSITION OF MILITARY 

REMAINS. 

A punctured tire had stoi)ped my automobile along a byroad 
near the northwestern frontier of Belgium. While repairs were 
progressing I walked into a field beside the road, where a multitude 
of craters bore witness to a violent artillery duel. In the center of 
the field what might have been an imposing shaft or statue had 
become scattered particles of rock. Here and there were bits of wood 
in the ground, perhaps debris of battle. But a closer examination 
disclosed some semblance of symmetry about them; and a detailed 
survey of the field proved it to be a German cemetery, or the pitiful 
renmant of what had been one, constructed during the first advance 
of the invader and destined for four years to see a succession of blue 
and gray and khaki uniforms sAvay backward and forward across 
it. The rock dust in the middle of the plot had been an impressive 
monument; each s])lintere(l bit of Avood had been raised to mark the 
resting place of a German soldier. 

Five million soldier corpses lie in France, killed during four years 
of fighting. The terrific destructiveness of modern engines of war; 
the carelessness of soldiers in failing often to keep marks of identity 



American Military Dead Overseas 13 

upon their persons; the ert'ect of newly introchiced chemicnls upon 
the markings on name i)hites; the inevitable uncertainty that occurs 
in the heat and perils of battle — these have raised to mammoth pro- 
l)orti(:ns the task of finding and bringing together and identifying 
the dead of the World War. 

Happily for us, the situation with respect to American dead is 
relatively nmch less unfortunate thai; is the case among the xVllies. 
America was in the war for a year and seven months; for a consider- 
able part of that time we had no great number of troops in the line. 
Britain and France, Belgium and Serbia, fought more than four years. 
The frontage in France held by the Americans at the armistice and 
the number of men holding it were respectively greater than the 
British line and forces in P' ranee at that time; but the Britons had 
been in the battle since 1914 and their dead had fallen '' from Nieu- 
port to Nazareth""; ours (so far as those at the front is concerned) 
were mainly in a small area. More important, many of the battle- 
field cemeteries of the Allies had changed hands repeatedly as no 
man's land moved up or back; the American cemeteries were behind a 
constantly advancing army; many of them were shelled but — more 
than momentarily — none were lost to the enemy. 

The initial task for each of the allied powers after hostilities was 
to bring in their dead from the burial places that were lonely or in- 
accessible, or otherwise unsuitable, to complete the work of identi- 
fication, and to beautify the graves of their comrades. The War 
Department having stated that the wishes of the families concerned 
would be followed, the ([uestion early arose as to the ultimate dispo- 
sition of American remains. In the course of the discussion, national 
organizations were formed to urge the retention of the dead in 
France or to insist upon their return to America, and no little heat 
was engendered, despite the fact that each group w^as assured from 
the first that its wishes with regard to the disposition of its own dead 
would be scrupulously respected. 

Those in J' ranee and in America w'ho advocate keeping our dead 
overseas urge, in opposing immediate repatriation, that the transpor- 
tation facilities of northern France are still perilously meager and 
that every effort should be centered on using such track and transport 
as is available for the supply of food and shelter and working mate- 
rials to the returning inhabitants of the devastated areas (which in 
the main are coterminous with the cemeterial areas). The population 
of France, they recall, was under a cruel strain for five years of war; 
and even yet the devastation in the north, and the fiscal and industrial 
difficulties throughout the country, should make us unwnlling to place 
the further burden on the morale of this brave pc()i)le that would be 
caused by the continual sight of endless funeral trains passing 



14 American Military Dead Overseas 

through the country. France's own dead, they assert, have not been 
returned from the battle front and from the colonies to their homes ; 
the vast amount of preliminary work, under conditions immeasurably 
more difficult than ours, will make it im])ossible for the French to 
begin this return until a considerable interval has elapsed ; and in the 
meanwhile no discrimination should be made in favor of America by 
giving it preferential treatment over the other associated powers. 

In opposing likewise the uUtmafe return of military remains to 
America they state that the gruesomeness of the operation is insuffi- 
ciently appreciated by those who demand it. and that sentimentally 
the reverence which — as relatives or as countrymen — we feel toward 
the fallen may be more beautifully and appropriately shown by suit- 
ably adorning their tombs and surroundings and by permitting them 
to rest w^ith their fellows beneath the fields they fought to save. 

But those who insist on bringing back the bodies of the dead remind 
us that our traditional policy — as exemplified in the Philippines, in 
Cuba, and in the return of John Paul Jones — has been to bring back 
our own. They point to a Franco-American agreement, concluded 
in August, 1918, i)roviding that — 

The Government of the French Repul)lic will examine cdnjointly with the 
American Government the measures to Ije taken to insure * * * tlie trans- 
port and return to the United States of the bodies * * * interred in France. 

If American dead are left in France, they assert, the necessity for 
preserving the inviolability of our Ijurial places will l)e the more 
likely to involve the United States in future European wars. 

The position of American parents, they add. is radically ditferent 
from that of the French and most of the Allies. In the latter case, 
the dead, even if unreturned. are sufficiently close to permit sorrow- 
ing relatives to make reverential pilgrimages to the graves and to 
show the respect they feel for their lost sons. But for Americans 
there is necessary a long trip to the seacoast, a trans-Atlantic voy- 
age, and another journey by land across a country strange in its 
language and customs. The project is one of great difficulty at best, 
they insist, and it is AvhoUy impossible for that majority of parents 
who are of moderate means. 

Both those who deplore and those who demand the return of 
remains to America have been inclined at times to voice generaliza- 
tions which are scarcely supported by sufficient evidence. 

Occasionally it is stated that the first wish of the dead, themselves, 
could they be consulted, would be to return to their own families 
and homes; perhaps with slightly greater frequency we are told that 
the preference of those who lie in France would be to remain where 
they fell. Xo actual \)oW of soldiers' opinions, sufficiently general 



American Military Dead Overseas 15 



to be conclusive, seems ever to have been taken which woukl support 
either of these assertions. 

The correspondence of the War Department indicates that a ma- 
jority of the parents and near relatives of the American Expedition- 
ary Forces' dead prefer to have the remains brought back to America. 
It tends to show also that the majority of those who have no near 
relatives buried abroad favor the retenticm of our dead overseas. 
The first convention of the American Legion in the United States 
and one post bellum divisional poll furnished evidence signifying 
a probable preponderance of opinion among service men favoring 
retention abroad in the absence of an adverse expression on the part 
of the families concerned. 

Some months ago a compilation of replies from an inquiry sent 
to approximately 75,000 emergency addresses of deceased soldiers 
indicated that in about 59 per cent of the cases the return of the 
remains to America was desired. The additional 41 per cent was 
made up of 26 per cent who affirmatively requested retention in France, 
14 per cent who did not reply, and a very small number requesting 
reburial in countries other than the United States. 

More recent revisions of this data for localized areas tend to show 
that about 60 per cent of the remains in the vicinity of Brest and 
about 56 per cent of those about St. Nazaire wall be returned to 
America. 

It has been alleged that the motive behind the proposal for the 
return of bodies is " the propaganda of the undertakers and coffin 
makers."" So, too, it has been charged that activating the movement 
for the retention of the dead abroad was the hope of " the French " 
to make their presence a source of constant and substantial financial 
revenue. Specific and sufficient data has not yet been adduced to 
indicate that either fear is borne out in fact. One group of embalmers 
did take part in the dissemination of advertisements and circular 
letters which, from the viewpoint of professional ethics, were open 
to question. But there was a repudiation Avithout delay from the 
recognized association of reputable funeral directors. Undoubtedly, 
also, instances of extortion and profiteering might be found among 
merchants and innkeepers in the vicinity of some of the hundreds of 
American burial places in France ; it will not be w^ondered at by those 
who have seen too many similar instances near military camps in 
America. But it is not true that there exists now^ in France any gen- 
erally prevalent effort to capitalize financially American burial places. 

The number of differing localities and persons involved precludes 
the making of any sweeping statements concerning the attitude of 
the French populace toward our cemeteries. My own experience 
was deeply gratifying. No one who goes through the overseas burial 



16 American Military Dead Overseas 

places will fail to see incidents that are as <^enuine and sincere as 
they are touching and reverential. 

AVhile Gen. Walsh was still the American commander at Bordeaux 
he went to a villao:e cemetery near by with Gen. JadAvin to visit the 
grave of a man from the latter's troops. They found an old French 
woman jjottering about the graves; and they learned on questioning 
her that the Avomen of the neighboring village had divided the 
mounds among themselves and that each cared for her quota of 
Americans. 

When I asked the director of Eed Cross activities in France and 
Belgium what his experience had been, he replied by showing me a 
current report from one of his district managers, in which I read : 

Shortly after arriving here we foinul in tlie neglecteil Koche cemetery of 
Ardoii one grave not buried in weeds. On tliis grave grew rose bushes long 
tended by luiknown French hands ; at the head of the grave one read on the 
cross from which hung a French wrejith tlie name of tlie soldier buried there 
during the (Jermau occupation, ('apt. ^Miller. American aviator. 

In the tields at Mei'val while plowing a farmer found the body of an 
American, killed in the taking of that I'cgion between the Vesle and the Aisne. 
^^'ho saw that this ally's body was transfei-red to an American cemetery? 
Naturally the old father of Mile. Lecat, of our *' Village liberes committee " at 
Merval. 

At the same conmiittee's barrack one day there halted an American Army car, 
with a captain speaking no French. He was in search of the grave of his brother, 
killed in an attack winch had not gained the expected ground, so that the fallen 
officer's bo<ly had been bui-ied l)y the Bodies behind their lines. The captain, 
who had been with the Army of occupaticm on the Rhine, had. curiously enough, 
been able to get from (lerman sources a description of where his brother's grave 
was to be found — in a German cemetery at a tiny hamlet back of the heights 
dominating the north side of the Aisne. But, even with this description, he was 
at a loss, for the little roads leading to the liandet in question were as vague 
to him as the language of the inhabitants. Mile. Lecat, who can understand 
English, got into the captain's car, guided him to Cuisy. and there, most difficult 
of all, learned fi'om one of the few inhabitants where to look for that lost little 
enemy cemetei-y. r.cliiiid tlie smashed hillto]i village they found it. utterly 
buried in weeds; and, as the captain's (Jerman description had it, there indeed 
was his brother's grave, the last in the last row of weathered crosses. 

The care which Mme. Dufay, of the S. S. !?. M. conunittee at Chezy-on-Orxois 
has given to our dead of the Chateau-Thierry region is infinitely touching. 
Mother of Ihree sons dead for Fr.ince. she establishd herself at Cliezy. near the 
grave of one of them killed in a joint French and American attack. For his 
American conn-ades in :iniis, dead for tlu^ same cause, there is no service she 
has not rendered — searching out theii- graves in the woods, having their bodies 
exhumed, collecting for their relations any relics that she could hnd on them, 
wrapping them in her own white sheets, transferring them to our ceme- 
teries, planting their new graves with flowers. 

Dr. J. F. Wadsworth. an American resident of Chateau-Thierry, 
in a comnuinication to Hon. Kichard I'ates. reprinted in the Con- 
gressional Kecord of March 2(), 19'2(), writes from intinuite knowledge 



American Military Dead Overseas 17 

of the willin<i:ness of the near-by popuhition to he helpfuL Among 
the experiences he recounts is this one : 

From time to time the people come to us telling of the finding of American 
graves. We have gone ont with them, feeling glatl for tlieir solicitude for our 
American soldiers. 

This morning I went to one of tliose villages frnni whicii had come tiie word 
that Madame Assaill.v had found four graves. We found lier, witli her aged, 
crippled husband, living in a poor, shell-torn house down near the l)anks of the 
Marne. While she was hurriedly making her toilet to ride with us in oiu- auto- 
mobile her hu.sband told of the time when the bombardment of their village 
was made, and how, l)ecause of his lameness, he was left behind while his wife 
was taken away prisoner b,y the Germans. One could easily see the pleasure 
felt by the old lady in being able to give this valuable information to us con- 
cerning our dead. * * * Hurrying on before us Madame Assailly brought 
us to the place whei-e lying al'out 50 feet from each other were three places 
marked with improvised crosses made of sticks or laths about 2 feet in length. 
* * * As we turned to go l)ack to the road Madame Assailly remarked 
that it was to her a great happiness to render some service to the Americans 
wh9 had done so much for them. 

An ex-sergeant in the Expeditionar}' Forces. Hudson Hawley, re- 
turned to France a j^ear after the armistice to revisit the scenes he 
had known in war time. On All Souls Day he was in tlie village of 
I'erigueux in the Department of the Dordogne where, in the church- 
yard of St. Georges, a number of Americans lie. His story of *"' The 
Fading Trail of the Yank." in the Home Sector, says of his visit : 

I was the (tnly living American in that area, the only ex-soldier there to pay 
respect to those of his comrades who lie buried in A\-hat is pretty nearly the 
farthest south cemetery of ours in Fiance. But our allies, the good people of 
the countr.vside, had preceded me in their devotions to my countrymen. 

In a central position in the cemetery, so disposed as not to favor any i)articular 
grave, was a great wreath with a ribbon of silver and horizon blue, bearing the 
inscription, "Aux soldats Aniericains." At least every other of the little momids 
was decorated with a bunch of wild flowers, brought by some child, no doubt, 
for as I entered the inclosure I found many of the youngsters of the neighbor- 
h<»od going silentl.v and daintily al)out laying their offerings on the graves. A 
fair sprinkling of middle-aged and elderly Frenchwomen were on hand, moving 
about among the plots, reading wJiat they could of the names, and dejiositing 
their humble wreaths. 

And as I stood there with bared head before that spectacle of friendly 
solicitude for the fallen sons of American mothers, monsieur le cure of St. 
George, with his two young assistant priests, came marching in witli cassock 
and surplice and cross, and, uncovering, stood before the ranks of the graves 
and began to recite the Latin commemorative service for the dead. 

It was biting cold and snowing hard little pellets, yet the kindly old priest 
and the two young men beside him stood there a good quarter of an hour, giving 
antiphon and response for the strangers who remained within their gates. At 
the flnal " Hequiescat in pace," with its concluding " Amen," they remained 
standing in meditation for a moment, and then solennily made a short tour 
around the cemetery Ijefore tiling out as they came. 



18 American Military Dead Overseas 

Some time before the armistice, the Secretary of War was returning 
from the front line to the American (xeneral Head({iiarters. when his 
automobile stopped during the passing of a funeral procession. The 
Secretary followed the cortege to the burial place and found there, 
to his astonishment, not only a French })adre and a Protestant chap- 
lain, arm in arm, with an escort of soldiers and choir boys, but gath- 
ered there as well the women of the village, with two huge wreaths — 
the more beautiful because of their crude and homely fashioning — to 
place on the newly turned earth. 

After his return to xVmerica the Secretary referred to the incident 
in a public address. In the audience was the poet Edmund Vance 
Cook, to whom the story so ajipealed that he reconstructed in his 
verses, " Mothers of France," the narrative of the tenderness of those 
Frenchwomen toward the unknown ])rivate of the 42d Division, who 
had come to the end of the rainl)ow; 

These women of France lie came to save 

Had never known Ills face or heard his name, 

Bnt when they saw the funeral tile they came, 

Dropping:: their dally tasks, to take the place 

Of his own womankind. His mother's face 

Shone out from theirs. Almost It seemed that she 

Had spirited across the wind-lashed sea 

And wept through those sad eyes of Picardy. 

Great heart of France! Which hatli withstood so well 

The hlast of hattles and the hates of hell, 

Which yet hath ^race to spare thy prayers and tlowers, 

From thy unnunibei'ed dead to one of ours. 

Our love is thine! By heart, by hand, by head; 

By whatsoever pledge it may be said ! 

By these — thy women, niotherin.i:; our dead ! 

The weather never becomes sufficiently stormy, says the caretaker 
at Suresnes, to stop the coming of the townsfolk or their caring for 
the grave plots of the Americans. From our old headquarters at 
Chaumont I started on a cemeterial inspection trip just after day- 
break on an April morning. P^ven at that early hour I met at the 
gate of the little cemetery old Madame Fauriat, carrying a basket 
of simple flowers to scatter among the trim crosses where the dew 
reflected the dawn's early light. 

Many instances came to my attention of cases where caretakers had 
to restrain French villagers from placing such decorations on Ameri- 
can graves as conflicted with the regulations designed to insure 
uniformity of api)earance. Sometimes this course was thought by 
the peasants to indicate a lack of respect and reverence for our dead 
on the part of the cemeterial authorities. To such an extent is 
this true that the Graves Registration Service has in preparation 
a bilingual jiamphlet, explanatory both of the regulations applying 



American Military Dead Overseas 19 

to the decoration of our ceiiieteries and tlie appreciation felt for the 
kindly solicitude which pronij^ts the adornment of American graves 
by French citizens. 

But these instances, even thou<rh numerous, perhaps do not justify 
a ])ositive f^eneralization; they certainly, however, refute the contrary 
conclusion that on the part of the inhabitants of France there is no 
respect for or other than a commercial interest in the graves of the 
Yanks who will be always overseas. 

III. FRANCO-AMERICAN NEGOTIATIONS, JUNE, 1918- 
FEBRUARY, 1920. 

The customs of the French people attendant upon the burial of 
their dead developed observances which not only seemed strange to 
the alien and the transient but Avhich were scarcely practicable *in 
time of Avar, and in a military organization. There Avas, for ex- 
ample, the practice of retaining mourners in distinctive dress, to 
participate in the funeral procession; a police official usually Avit- 
nessed and certified to the fact of interment ; the coffin Avas purchased 
customarily from a firm possessing a monopoly on the supply of such 
articles in the locality. Such restrictions being obviously undesir- 
able in time of military operations, negotiations took place between 
the American and French Governments early in 191S, and an agree- 
ment Avas reached giving freedom to the American military and 
naval authorities with regard to the method of burying^ their 
military dead. 

The same agreement included the significant provision that, fol- 
loAving the eA'acuation of the American Expeditionary Forces from 
France : 

The Governiiient of the French Republic woiihl examine conjointly with the 
American Government the methods to be taken to insure, in conformity with 
the French laws and police regulations regarding hygiene, the transport, and 
return to the United States of the bodies of American soldiers and sailors 
interred in France. 

The French Parliament, late in 1915, had enacted legislation pre- 
scribing the methods of procuring sites for French and Allied burial 
places. The cost incurred in the acquisition of these plots Avas to 
be borne by the French Government, though the upkeep of the graves 
Avas subject to assignment to organizations established for that pur- 
pose in the Allied countries. The responsibility for carrying out 
the provisions of this laAv Avas intrusted to the Office foi' Military 
Graves in the Ministry of War. 

The Government of Great Britain effected an agreement Avith the 
French Government early in 1919 providing that the recently estab- 
lished Imperial Commission on Military Sepultures should be the 





INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR VIEWS OF ARMY BARRACKS USED AS 
Y. W. C. A. HOSTESS HOUSE AT ROMAGNE 



20 



X. 



i 






HOSTESS HOUSES AT BONY (above) AND BELLEAU WOOD (below) 
Constructed by Red Cross; operated by Y. W. C. A. 



22 American Military Dead Overseas 

official organization liavintr jurisdiction over Great Britain's military 
graves in France. This arrangement provided, in the main, that iso- 
lated tombs of British soldiers found in the region of former battle 
fields miglit be removed after the cessation of hostilities, with a view 
of gathering bodies into military cemeteries ; that the French Govern- 
nient would instruct local authorities to grant authorizations for the 
disinterment and transportation of bodies to military cemeteries; that 
the Ministry of War Avould acquii-e such ground as was certified to be 
necessary for burial places by the Imperial Commission ; that disinter- 
ments with a view of transportation to the United Kingdom might 
occur only with the acquiescence of the Imperial Commission; and 
that all commemorative monuments in France honoring British mili- 
tary actions should be presented to the Imperial Commission. 

Each request made by American officials to the French Govern- 
ment, during the period just after the armistice, looking toward the 
return of military dead to the United States from the zone of opera- 
tions, met a firm disinclination on the part of the French Government 
to permit such removal. Reporting an extended conference held with 
representatives of the French Commission for Military Graves, in 
April, 1919, officials of the American Graves Registration stated : 

The authorities of France have given due consideration to each practical and 
gruesome aspect of the liorrors involved in the passing of tlie millions of l)odies 
of military dead over its national railways or highways, tlie insuperable diffi- 
culties of transportation, sanitary regulations, the public liealth, effective regis- 
ligation, problems of construction and reconstruction, etc., and liave tlierefore 
promulgated the existing decree of proliibition concerning such removals. 
* * * Should an exception be made in the case of American dead, it would 
at once involve each of the otlier nations in clamorous agitation for like action. 
w * * France particularly, whose whole territory would liecome a veritable 
charnel house if such extensive exlunnations should take place, entertains strong 
hope of deliverance from such an event. 

The " existing decree of prohibition '' referred to was a promulga- 
tion of " ^provisional instructions " by the French Premier, two months 
previously, in February, 1919. These instructions, which had the 
force of law. forbade indefinitely disinterments in the " zone of mili- 
tary operations" except such as were necessary for the centralizati<m 
of bodies, the release of private grounds, the making over of ceme- 
teries, and such removals as were dictated by considerations of public 
health. 

The ''zone of operations'' was given boundaries (which later were 
to have an imj^ortant effect on the work of removing American dead), 
as follows: 

The southwest of the Department of the Sonnne. 

The west and south of the Deptirtment of the Oise. 

The west and south of the districts of Meaux, Couloniiiiiers, and I'l-uvins. 

The south of the Departments of the Marne and Meuse. 

The west and south of the Department of the Vosges. 

The west of the territorv of Relfort. 



American Military Dead Overseas 23 



At about the same time there was inti'odnced in the French Parlia- 
ment a bill prohibitinfr the exhumation and transportation to their 
liomes of the remains of French, allied, or enemy soldiers or sailors 
before January 1, 1922. The "' statement of motives " presented with 
the bill, which was thought to have the indorsement of the French 
administration, stated in conclusion : 

To sum up: The iirohihitiou ai^ainst the transiKirtatidii durin.u- a period of 
three years of all reniaiiis of soldiers who have died during the war * * * 
would appear to lie indispensable on tlie following grounds: 

(1) Not to demobilize r<tlling stock for purposes which could be deferred, 
insomuch as availabilities are unequal to the most urgent needs. 

(2) To enable the methodical reconstruction of cemeteries, the regrouping 
of isolated graves, and the identification of tombs. 

The Commanding General of the American Expeditionary Forces 
called the attention of the War Department to the fact that the 
freedom of action of the United States with respect to the disposition 
of military remains would be prejudiced by the enactment of the 
proposed legislation. The War Department having communicated 
with the State Department, the Acting Secretary of State instructed 
the American ambassador in Paris to make a vigorous protest at 
the ministry of foreign affairs against the passage of the bill. This 
was done, and the projected legislation was not enacted, though it 
was substantially, if informally, put into effect by the '' provisional 
instructions " of the Premier. 

The procuring of permanent places of burial for American dead 
overseas Avas given tangible form shortly after the armistice, when 
Marshal Petain w^rote to Gen. Pershing proposing the establishment 
of American fields of honor in France, and stating that, " France 
would be happy and proud to retain the bodies of American victims 
Avho had fallen on her soil." 

The marshal thought that localities where our soldiers had dis- 
tinguished themselves in battle would be most suitable for the loca- 
tion of American cemeteries, and he offered his services in bringing 
the matter before the French (xovernment. Gen. Pershing replied 
that, " Should the Ignited States Government desire me to under- 
take negotiations, with a view of establishing permanent cemeteries 
in France, I should be happy to avail myself of your offer of assist- 
ance." 

In America, meanwhile, a rather sharp difference of opinion was 
developing concerning the general advisability of removing tlie 
remains of military dead from France. "The Bring Home the 
Soldier Dead League," with which was affiliated many parents 
and relatives of our overseas dead, was organized for the pur- 
pose of pressing and expediting the bringing home of the re- 



24 American Military Dead Overseas 

mains of their kinsmen. "The Field of Honor Association" was 
foiniino' to assist in crystallizing a public opinion favorable to the 
retention of militarv remains overseas, excepting- in cases where the 
next of kin insisted upon their return. 

(xen. Pershing, cabling to the War Department on the sul)ject be- 
fore his dei)artiire from France. Ijclieved "That could these soldiers 
sjjcak for themselves, they would wish to l)e left undisturbed, where 
with their comrades they had fought their last fight. * * * The 
graves of our soldiers constitute, if they are allowed to remain, a 
perpetual reminder to our allies of the liberty and ideals upon which 
the greatness of America rests.'" 

He recommended that "None of our dead be removed from En- 
rope, unless their nearest relatives so demand after a full under- 
standing of all the sentimental reasons against such a removal." 

The American Legion, at its ^Minneapolis convention, considering 
the return of military dead, passed this resolution: 

HexolriiJ. 'I'liiil il lie tlu^ eiise nt' the Aiiiericnn Leixinn that the Ixidies of the 
Aniei-ican dead he not returned from France, except in cases where the parents 
or next of kin desire that the Government return tliem, and that the United 
States of America, in cooperation with tlie (Jovernment and tlie people of 
France, establish and maintain cemeteries for the American dead that remain 
in France, or other foi-ei,t,'n countries, tt) the end that the s;raves of those who 
made the suinvnii' sacrilice may lie maintained as a fitting memorial of Ameri- 
ca's unseltisli service to humanity. 

The attitude of the A^'ar Department, as indicated in Secticm 1. re- 
mained constant — it would neither propose nor oppose the bringing 
of military dead from overseas to America, but it would place all 
available information at the disposal of the relatives concerned, and 
Avould abide by their decision. 

In order, however, to put into effect the wishes of the next of kin, 
it was necessary for the AVar Dei)artnient to reach an agreement with 
the French (irovernment that would give us freedom of action, -with 
regard to leaving our deceased soldiers in France, or bringing their 
remains to the United States. 

In December, 1911), the French council of ministers gave permis- 
sion to the American authorities to return any bodies buried outside 
the military zone; but repeated representations by the State Depart- 
ment to the MinistiT of AVar and the Foreign Office failed to procure 
permission for the reni<)\ al of remains from the former battle area. 

At the end of 1019 a comprehensive communication from the State 
Department urged that the French prohibition shoidd be lifted, in 
view of the facts : 

(1) That tlic :;r(Mi dislancc liclwcen France and America and the great 
exiKMisc involved made ii iniiu-acticalile foi- all hnl a few rclativt>s to visit tlie 



American Military Dead Overseas 25 

.urnves of tlifir lovtvl om-s. as is ivlativfly easy for those who are not separated 
hy the ocean, and liy harriers of lan.^uaue and cnstoni, from tlie resting;- iihices 
of theii' deceased kinsfol]<. 

(2) That file comparatively small luimher of American soldiers among the 
neaiiy r),(MK),(M)0 military dead in France would not seriously emharrass the 
French (Jovei'nment if permission were .uiven for their removal. 

(3) That arrangements could he made for preventing undue interference 
with traffic, or the routing of a large number of bodies over densely poindated 
districts, thus avoiding the strain upon railroad facilities and the depression of 
civilian morale. 

(4) That countries other than France were permilting the rei)atriation of 
remains, and that failure or delay on the jiart of France would create an unfavor- 
able impression. 

The French (Toveniinent was iiiiwillino- to go further in reply than 
to admit in principle the right of the American Government to return 
its military remains to the Ignited States, but to withhold permission 
for the exercise of this right in the zone of operations. The French 
Premier, however, agreed to the appointment of an international com- 
mission to attempt the working out of a plan for the exhumation and 
transport of the bodies of American soldiers to P'rench ports, ''tak- 
ing into account the material availabilities of the GoA^ernment, both 
as regards coal and cars and other means of transportation." 

The State Department requested the Secretary of War to name 
the American members of the international commission; he imme- 
diately appointed Col. Bentley T. Mott, the military attache at Paris, 
and Col. Henry Y. Rethers, Chief of the American Graves Kegistra- 
tion Service, Qiuirtermaster Corps, in Europe; and in late February 
disj^atched the writer, as assistant of the Secretary of AVar, to Europe 
to make available for the conunission the results of previous 
negotiations. 

IV. FRANCO-AMERICAN NEGOTIATIONS, MARCH- 
APRIL, 1920. 

The commission appointed by the French (iovernment to meet the 
American commissioners included representatives from nearly every 
ministry in the cabinet. The size of stich a group, the absence of some 
of its members from Paris, the difficidty of settling upon a time ' 
suitable for all, frustrated for a time the efforts of the American 
meml)ers to expedite the convening of the two groui)s. 

On March 20, finally, the initial meeting was held at the Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs. Both American commissioners were present, and 
for the P^rench Government there were in attendance officials from the 
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, War, Public Works. Liberated 
Regions, Hygiene, and Pensions. M. Maginot, the Minister of Pen- 
sions and the chairman of the commission, presided. 



26 American Military Dead Overseas 

In the course of a prolonged discussion concerning the removal of 
American dead from the " zone of operations,-' the P'rench members 
touched uj^on the giving of priority to the United States over France 
in the making of disinterments, the sanitary dangers to be overcome, 
and the limitations on transport and labor facilities in northern 
France. The president of the commission stated that he would bring 
the entire matter before the next meeting of the French cabinet, 
on March 23, and the commission adjourned to reconvene on JNIarch 24. 

Preceding the second meeting of the commission, the American 
Diembers invited a number of French sanitary officers to the head- 
quarters of the Graves Registration Service, where a detailed demon- 
stration and explanation was made of the methods to be employed by 
us, with i^articular reference to hygienic safeguards. 

At the second session of the full commission, on the 24th, the presi- 
dent urged, as the time for beginning operations, a date not prior to 
November 1, and stated that he would submit a formal proposal to 
the American representatives on the following day. 

The proposal referred to did not nauie a specific time when ex- 
humations would be sanctioned but it prohibited disinterments and 
removals before the end of the summer. A detailed reply dispatched 
by the American representatives on the same day, March 25, stated 
that no indefinite arrangement as to the time of beginning work 
could be accei)table in the United States and proposed the fixing of 
an early date, after which the Graves Registration Service might be 
free to carry on its work in the '* zone of operations." 

The hesitancy of the French officials to comply immediately with 
the requests of the American representatives rested mainly on seven 
chief considerations : 

1. Their unwillingness to discriminate in favor of Americans at 
a time when French dead (far more numerous and much less easily 
identified) could not yet be returned from their battle-field graves 
to their liomes. 

2. The fear of the effect upon badly strained civilian morale of 
a constant succession of westbound funeral trains and eastbound 
mortuary sujiplies. 

3. The })()ssibility of otlier nations with a vastly greater number 
of dead making similar demands if the American re(iuests were 
complied with. 

4. An uncertainty as to Avhether the hygienic features of the 
operations could be safeguarded sufficiently to eliminate all fears 
based on sanitation. 

5. The necessit}' for avoiding — during the opening stages of eco- 
nomic recovery in the devastated areas — all enterprises which could 
be delayed, thus allowinir the utilization of all the meager available 



American Military Dead Overseas 27 



resources for gettino; the battle area and its returning refugees 
back to a normal basis of living. 

6. The shortage of locomotive equipment throughout France and 
the destruction of portions of the northern rail systems; direct rail 
connection has not yet been reestablished with the villages nearest 
the two largest American cemeteries in Europe. 

7. The acute scarcity of coal in France, felt particularly in the 
early summer of 1920 when the negotiations concerning the disposi- 
tion of American military dead were in progress. 

This last difficulty — in combination with the strike of railway em- 
ployees at the beginning of April, and the fear of a general strike in 
early May — loomed large in the minds of the French representatives. 
There have been inquiries in America as to whether the plea of the 
French relative to their fuel and transport situations represented a 
real or fanciful objection. An actual observation of conditions would 
convince the spectator, in my opinion, that this difficulty is far from 
being without a basis in fact. Tourists, of course, will penetrate to 
the former battle fields and in doing so will consume coal and gaso- 
line; the combination of the travelers' insistence (often with laudable 
and sufficient reasons) upon reaching the battle areas, and the not un- 
natural desire of the returning inhabitants of the villages to reestab- 
lish, to some extent, their social and commercial relations, would be 
likely in some degree to overcome any considerations of prudence and 
conservation. But the fact that France faces a serious coal 
shortage is reflected in drastic fashion by the inconvenience to 
which its own citizens have been subjected, even in their capital city. 
I quote excerpts which might be multiplied at will from articles in 
French, British, and American newspapers, appearing during the 
time jvhen the agreement regarding American military remains was 
being negotiated : 

The Chicago Tribune, European edition, March 9, 1920, stated : 

Consequent on the necessity of saving coal following' the miners' strilce in the 
Pas tie Cahiis, a decree framed by the Ministers of the Interior and of Public 
Works has lieen issued, ordering the closing of cafes and of restaurants at 10 
p. m. ; that of theaters, nuisic halls, and cinemas, at 11 p. m. 

In addition, it is decreed the Metropolitan and Nord-Sud subway lines will 
stop running at 11 p. m. 

The New York Herald, European edition, March 10, 1920, stated: 

All the French railway lines have bet'ii instructed to suppress a certain luun- 
ber of passenger trains. The suburban and workmen's trains and all the great 
international trains are to run as usual, but the express and ordinary train 
services are to be I'educed about one-third. 

The London Times, March 11, 1920, stated: 

In the Pas de Calais Department ."t."^,!!!)!) nnners ai-e now out on strike, but no 
instance of disorder has occurred. The effect of the strike uiion the northeastern 



28 American Military Dead Overseas 



Provinces, which are, yet recoverinji' froiii war devastaTion, are very serious; that 
is especially tlie case at Lille. 

Numerous factories have had to close down, inchiding the glass works at 
Valenciennes and Anidie. The surface coal stocks of the mines are completely 
finished, and shortly, it is stated, all remaining stocks at the factories will also 
liave been used up. 

The Chieafro Tribune. Elur()i)ean edition, ^Nlareh 16. 1920, stated: 

Faced by a miners" strike in the great basin of (he north, which has already 
brought out more than 10(»,0(»0 men. according to latest estimates, Fi*ance is 
pi'eparing for the possii)ility of further restrictions on transports, heat, light, 
and so on. sinular to those now in force. 

Already not a mine in the great coal helds around Lille is working and the 
effect upon the many industries in that region which depend upon its coal is 
serious. The cold weather has caused much suffering to individuals. 

Alontmartre restaurants and cafes are on strike because of the early closing. 

The proprietors assert that the early closing bill which compels them to close 
at 10 p. m. meant ruin. 

The Paris Temps, March 11, 1920, stated: 

The miners' strike has provoked the reestablishment of certain restrictions. 
A prescription of the Prefet de Police has fixed, for Paris, the details of 
a])plication of the decree. 

All establishments open to the public will close at in p. m., exct'iit theaters 
and UKiving-iiiiture shows, which will be allowed to continue their performance 
until 11 ]). 111., from March 12(in. 

From ]\Iai'cli 1.") the last train starting from the tei'uiinus stations on the 
Metroitolitan noitli aijd south lines, tramways, and autobus will leave the 
terminus at ll.;^(t ]>. m. 

The restrictions will also concern railroads. The Minister of Railroads hjis 
made the following declaration. The main points of the project can be sum- 
marized as follows : 

Maintenance of all subnrb.-in trains and workmen ti'ains, as well as all inter- 
national trains, but \ariable reductions, according to the needs of the different 
railroads, of about one-third of the total of express and local trains. 

The NeAV York Herald, European edition, March IC), 1920, stated : 

111 iioint of fact, adilitional resti'ictioiis in the use of coal are not likely to 
cause niucli of nn upbeaval in the normal life — such as it is these days — of 
Parisians. Alrea<ly theaters, restaurants, cafes, dance halls, and subway 
system are closing ui), or down, early, and the streets are poorly lighted. And 
coal, moreover, is difficult to get anyway. 

First, the crisis in i>ro(luction caused a coal restriction, then the strikes 
in the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, then the shortage of means of transport, 
then the railway strike and its aftermath, a congestion of cars on tracks 
everywhere in France. 

Tlie Anu'ficau reiiresentat'ucs ne«i-()tiat('d constantly with the 
Frencli officials in an eti'oit to iiiinimize or ol)viatc the difficidties 
exi.stini*- in the various ohjections cited, and rc^ached a tentative 
a<rreeinent. 

Prior to the next nieetin<r of the council of ministers conferences 
were held Ijetween the American connnissioners and the ^Minister of 




FLOW OF RAIL TRANSPORTATION TO FRENCH BASE PORTS 



29 



30 American Military Dead Overseas 

Hygiene; and on April 1 a second meetino- with French hygienists 
A\ as held at the American headquarters. 

The French cahinet. meeting on April 2, again took the matter 
under consideration and instructed the president of the connnission to 
indicate the willingness of his Government to adopt the terms of the 
agreement reached hy the commissioners, with the exception that the 
actual removals from the zone of operations might not begin prior to 
September 15, 1920. 

The terms of this agreement are as follows : 

Pursuant to the ajireenient iiroposed by tli^e French Foreign Office to the Amer- 
ican Department of State in August, 1918, and tliereafter ratified by the Fed- 
eral (Government, the French Republic recognizes and adheres to the principle 
that the Federal Government may exhume and transport to the United States 
the remains of American soldiers, sailors, marines, and associated personnel 
now interred in the French " zone of military operations," as defined in the pro- 
visional instruction of the President of the Council, published in the .Journal 
Officiel of June 19, 1919. 

Actual transportation of remains by the American (Iraves Registration Service 
from the zone of operati<nis under this agreement may begin at any time after 
September 15, 1920. 

The Federal Government, under the terms of the present agreement, will 
limit the return of bodies to those whose removal to America is requested 
specifically by their next of kin. 

The Graves Registration Service, through the observance of stringent hygienic 
precautions, agrees to in.sure the prevention of epidemic from the conduct of 
its operation.s. A detailed statement of sanitary safeguards will be transmitted 
to the Service de I'P^tat Civil et des Sepultures INIilitaires, and, at the option of 
the latter organization, a French hygienic officer may be associatecl with the 
Graves Registration Service in all of its operations. 

In agreement with the Ministry of Transportation, the American (iraves Regis- 
tration Service will undertake so to locate the points of concentrating bodies for 
shipment to ports as to require a minimum of construction or rearrangement of 
railroad facilities. 

The Ministry of TransiJortatii)!!. on the reipiest of the (iraves Registration 
Service, will allocate upon a rental basis an amoimt of rail tran.sportation suffi- 
cient for the actual necessities of the hitter after September 1.5. The (iraves 
Registration Service, on its jtart, will undertake to limit its rail tran.sport 
requirements to French ports under this agreement to such a mininuim as may 
l)e necessary inider most economical ccmditions of utilization, not exceeding a 
maximum of 100 standard box cars in use at any given time. 

The regulations ivlative to concentration and regrouping of bodies in the 
"zone of military operations" as published in the .Touiiial Officiel of .Tune 10, 
1910, are not altered by this agreement. 

The Secretary of AVar on April 24 advised the Secretary of State 
that this agreement was acceptable to the War Dei)artment, and two 
days later the State Department cabled the ambassador at Paris to 
advise the French (irovernment that the United States would adhere 
to the i)roposal as drawn. 

The work of the Ami^rican connnission being now completed. I 
reconnnend that it be dissolved. 



American Military Dead Overseas 31 

V. CARING FOR THE GRAVES OF THE FALLEN. 

In describin<>: the operations of late April, 1918, the Commander in 
Chief of the American Ex2)editionary P^orces wrote : 

On April 20, Lieut. McConniclv and liis group arrived at Mandres and began 
their work under heavy sliell fire and gas; and although troops were in dugouts, 
these men immediately went to the cemetery and in order to preserve records 
and locations repaired and erected new crosses as fast as the old ones were 
blown down. They also completed the extension to the cemetery, this work oc- 
cupying a period of one and one-half hours, during which time shells were falling 
continuously and they were subjected to mustard gas. They gathered many 
bodies which had l»eeu first in the hands of the Germans and were later retaken 
by American counterattacks. Identification was especially difficult, all papers 
and tags having been removed and most of the bodies being in a terrible condition 
and beyond recognition. 

The work so cited by Gen. Pershing was that of advance group 
No. 1, Graves' Registration Service. The organization of this service 
was authorized in the office of the Quartermaster General by the War 
Department in August, 1917. A dozen units, each consisting of 2 
officers and 50 men, were organized in the United States and sent 
overseas. In the A. E. F, five similar units of approximately equal/ 
strength had been organized. These two groups, as Avell as the Red 
Cross section for photographing individual graves, were consolidated 
in February. 1918, by order of (leneral Headquarters American Ex- 
peditionary Forces. The Graves Registration Service remained the 
name of the combined organization. 

Since the armistice, except for a brief period, all the work of cen- 
tralizing remains has been under the control of the Graves Registra- 
tion Service, This service and the cemeterial branch were combined 
recently in the office of the Quartermaster General, the consolidated 
organization being called the Cemeterial Division. The overseas 
organization, subordinate to the Cemeterial Division but given large 
discretion in operation, continues to be called the American Graves 
Registration Service, Quartermaster Corps, in Europe. 

The initial burials among combat troops were made by the units 
themselves, not by the Graves Registration Service. The latter or- 
ganization, however, followed the advancing battle line in order to 
complete or remake hasty burials, to procure identifications, and, 
where necessary, to improve the locations of burial places. 

Its general duties were the acquisition of land for cemeteries, the 
arrangement and control of these cemeteries, and the registration of 
all American graves wherever found. 

A detailed examination of the overseas operations probably would 
indicate that the supply of personnel from America proceeded with 
disproportionate rapidity, compared with the supply of the data 



32 American Military Dead Overseas 

and materials necessary for the bejxinnin*^ of field operations. The 
difficulties and delay encountered in the manufacture and transport 
of supplies, particularly coffins; the clerical work of canvassing all 
relatives as to their desires concerninji: the remains of their kinsmen 
(which had to be completed before disinterments could begin but 
which could be started only a short time in advance of exhumations, 
in order to minimize the numV)er of removals of families, deaths of 
relatives, and other occurrences likely to impair the accuracy of the 
data collected) ; the complicated procedure necessary in some places 
for securing the permission of local authorities for the initial dis- 
interments; and the lack of any previous experience on which a 
forecast of personnel and supplies could be confidently based — these 
are among the considerations which prevented the immediate utili- 
zation of all personnel as quickly as it reached France and England. 
The difficulties mentioned, however, are now wholly or substantially 
obviated. 

The first main divisions of the overseas organization are those of 
zones — the zones of France, of Great Britain, and of mid-Europe. 
These zones are further subdivided into sections, five in France, 
three in Great Britain, etc. Each section has its shipping port and 
each port, while in use, a port commander. Actual field work is 
performed by mobile operating units, consisting of embalmers. tech- 
nical assistants, and laborers, supervised by inspectors and respon- 
sible in the first instance to the section commanders. 

Stringent regulations are in effect to prevent confusion of identity 
during disinterments and transportation. The actual carrying of 
remains across the ocean and through the United States by rail to 
the home is in charge of the Army Transportation Service. But 
during the ocean voyage a convoyer of the Graves Registration Serv- 
ice remains with the bodies, and at Hoboken a branch office of the 
same service checks all incoming remains. 

The first bodies returning from France will be those, in the main, 
lying within a radius of 100 miles from the base ports. This is for 
the reason that satisfactory or even tolerable freight service on the 
railroads of France is quite impossible to secure, owing to the acute 
fuel crisis. The decrease in French coal })roduction by the flooding 
of mines during the enemy's occupation, the strikes during the spring 
in the Departments of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, and the failure 
of (ierman deliveries to reach nearly the amounts expected, leave tiie 
country in a dangerous situation. 

Though practically all the automobiles of the American Expedi- 
tionary P\)rces were included in the bulk sale to the French (jovern- 
ment (and the available remainder were in use by the forces in Ger- 
many or tied u]) by legal i)roceedings), the War Department met the 




BRITISH BURIAL PLACES FROM WHICH ALL AMERICAN DEAD TO BE RETURNED 
TO THE UNITED STATES HAVE BEEN EVACUATED 



33 



34 American Military Dead Overseas 

rail transport shortage by shipping into France a considerable 
amount of automotive transports, which, within the area of its effec- 
tive operation, will make the Graves Registration Service independent 
of railway limitations. 

Until now (Ma}' 1) all bodies shipped from France have proceeded 
through the port of Brest. Eventually, though perhaps not simul- 
taneously, shipments Avill be made also through the ports of St. 
Nazaire, Le Havre, or Cherbourg, ^Marseilles, Bordeaux, and La 
Rochelle. St. Xazaire will accommodate the largest number, and 
the shipments from the other ports will vary in the order named. 

Shipments from England have gone through Southampton. Later, 
use probably will be made of Liverpool. Bodies from (iermany are 
likely to be evacuated through Antwerp, beginning in late May, as- 
suming that transi:»ort arrangements are completed with the Belgian 
authorities. 

The correspondent of the Stamford and Rutland News, after the 
first field operations of the Graves Registration Service in the south 
of England, descril)ed his impressions as follows: 

The \\()rk was carried out in a most reverent manner by a special party of 
American men, luider tlie direction of tlie United States military authorities, 
who were represented by officers. 

That portion of God's Acre where the interments took place (during 1918) 
was screened off from the public view, ami the public were not admitted to 
the cemetery while the operations were in progress. 

Each coffin was raised from its resting i)lace by means of ropes. Then 
the lid was taken oft, and the corpse, after being disinfected, \vas carefully 
wrapped in a khaki sheet and lifted into a zinc and copper lined shell. 

A disk bearing the name of the departe<l soldier was pinned to the sheet, and 
the whole was draped with white material. 

A domed metal lid was then placed on the shell and liernietically sealed down. 

Each shell was afterwards inclosed in a beautiful polislied walnut coffin, which 
was placed in a stout wooden packing case ready for transshipment. 

A large motor lorry stood on the drive close at hand, and into this each case 
was lifted and the vehicle then left direct for Southampton, from which port 
the coffins are being shipped. On arrival the coffins will be ready for immediate 
reburial. 

Actual disinterments were begun in England on February 3, 1020, 
and in the French '" zone of the interior " on March 29, 1920. The 
securing of supplies and of authorizations for disinterment has pro- 
ceeded less rai)idly than was anticipated; but the first difficulty is 
being vigorously attacked and the second has been eliminated. The 
actual disinterments liave been made at a considerably greater rate 
of speed than Mas originally estimated. 

While shipments to the L'nited States are being made of those 
bodies requested from the Fi-ench " zone of the interior," those not re- 
quested are being left in the cemeteries where they are now located, 



American Military Dead Overseas 35 

until the westward movement has been completed, and until the per- 
manent Fields of Honor have been designated. 

VI. THE FIELDS OF HONOR. 

Death is no more a respecter of places than of persons. When 
the conclusion of the armistice gave pause to armies which for four 
months had subordinated everything to the relentless prosecution of 
a crushing offensive movement, the bodies of American dead were 
to be found — at the front and in the rear — in nearly 2,000 separate 
locations. 

Naturally there has been some apprehension among relatives in 
America when word reached them during the succeeding months that 
the bodies of their loved ones had been removed from the place of 
initial interment. There exists among bereaved families an aver- 
sion to the unnecessary disturbance of remains, and from many quar- 
ters inquiries came asking the reasons for these transfers. 

An inspection of the old battle area makes the reply — in so far as 
the " zone of operations "" is concerned — reasonably clear. 

Battle burials, unhappily, were made often under conditions un- 
avoidably terrible. In order to secure some degree of shelter from 
shell-fire, temporary burial grounds in many instances were located 
in low-lying regions. These places were subject to constant inunda- 
tion, which made highly desirable the removal of American dead to 
more suitable locations. 

Much of the operation of the American Expeditionary Forces oc- 
curred in places ordinarily isolated and inaccessible, such as portions 
of the Argonne forest. The initial burials Avere made of necessity 
in the immediate vicinity of the place where death occurred. But 
once the fighting had ceased it w^ould have been unfortunate to leave 
these graves isolated and unapproachable, in wild and remote regions. 

Perhaps a major portion of burials at the front were made in what 
had been cultivated plots and in areas which now again are being 
used for agriculture. Obviously it w^ould have been unwise to permit 
these remains to lie uncollected, casually scattered among the fields 
and farmyards of France. 

Every battered shell of a village along the battle line constituted 
a headquarters for some combat organization, and afforded a degree 
of shelter for some military unit. The burials from that unit had to 
be made amid the ruins of the town ; and the rebuilding of it often- 
times makes necessary now the transfer of graves that otherwise 
might lie beside a street or in a market place. 

In addition, grouped graves permit of care and attention being 
bestowed upon them which would be quite impracticable were they 
left in the far Separated spots where they happened first to be. 



36 American Military Dead Overseas 

So our military remains were concentrated into a relatively small 
number of cemeteries which might be properly ornamented and cared 
for as the temporary or permanent restin<>: places of American soldier 
dead. The original l.TOO locations are reduced now to less than 600, 
ranging downward from Romagne, Avitli its 22,000 crosses, to village 
])lots with few or even a single body. But these last are few ; it is 
jjractically impossible now to find an isolated American grave in 
France. 

Approximately 88 per cent of our dead in France rest in American 
burial places; about 9 per cent are in P'rench cemeteries, and the 
remainder are in British and German plots. 

The American Legion has urged that permanent fields be located 
for those whose return from France is not recpiested. The Field of 
Honor Association is organized in furtherance of the same object. 
Through INIarshal Petain the Republic of France long since offered 
to provide the necessary cemeterial sites. iVIoreover, thousands of 
parents have recjuested the War Department to permit their deceased 
children to remain in France. 

For the accommodation of those bodies, therefore, which will rest 
forever overseas, I recommend the retention of the following three 
cemeteries : 

Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, I)ei)artment of the Meuse. 

Belleau Wood, Department of the Aisne. 

Suresnes, Department of the Seine. 

There I'emain upAvard of 500 locations Avhere American dead are 
buried. It is clearly desirable to reduce to the lowest possible number 
the i)laces i)ermanently held. In a number of instances, reipiests have 
reached the War Department from Army units, re(iuesting that 
cemeteries be retained at })oints Avhere those units had rendered dis- 
tinguished service. Any general i)olicy of establishing divisional 
cemeteries, or of placing permanent battle cemeteries at the various 
points where brilliant or sanguinary engagements occurred, woidd so 
scatter our dead and multiply our burial places, as to lessen the im- 
pi-essiveness of a few large fields of honor, would increase the prob- 
lems of administration, and would decrease the possibilities of orna- 
mentation by parceling out among many points the sum total avail- 
able for ex])enditure. If, for example, there is one American ceme- 
tery at the front, it will be possible to i)rovide hostess houses, to erect 
permanent buildings and to arrange landscape effects, that would not 
be possil)le on an e(pial scale at each of four or five American ceme- 
teries along the battle line. 

But in one case i)articularly — that of the 27th and ;50th Divisions — 
a deep and natural sentiment attaches to the fact that jjractically all 
the work of those divisi(ms was done in conjunction with the British 



38 American Military Dead Overseas 



Army. I should scarceh^ wish to recommend on that account that the 
dead from those organizations be not bronglit into the central burial 
place of their fellow countrymen, but it is to be hoped that at Bony or 
elsewhere, a fitting memorial design ma}^ commemorate the distinctive 
service of the 2d Corps Avith the British forces. 

The construction of semi-permanent works at some of our present 
burial plots — indeed the very existence of those plots as established 
locations — prevents the mere choosing of theoretically ideal localities 
upon a map. In view of all the circumstances and after having 
visited practically every site which has been suggested for retention, 
I am of the belief that our securing the three locations named above 
would constitute the most desirable arrangement for the fitting care 
of our dead in France. 

Nestling beneath the massive gray walls of Fort Valerien and 
with the winding valley of the Seine beneath it, Suresnes Cemetery 
is picturesquely located in the village of the same name on the out- 
skirts of Paris. Flanking it on three sides is the beautiful Wash- 
ington Boulevard. At either end of the present reservation, addi- 
tional parcels of land are being secured so that (in addition to the 
enlargement of the area) there will be no possibility of commercial 
encroachment. More than 1,000 bodies are now at Suresnes and 
there will be a maximmn capacity of nearly 5,000. Its location 
within a few miles of the capital solves the questions of transporta- 
tion and hotel accommodations. Sentimentally, it is a splendid lo- 
cation for a lasting and solemn memorial of Franco-American mili- 
tary cooperation. 

Deep in the consciousness of Americans everywhere are the neigh- 
boring localities of Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Woods. These 
spots to us are symbols which serve to dramatize the final crushing 
of the German offensive on the banks of the Marne and the develop- 
ment of that smashing allied attack in midsummer of 1918 which, 
before the ending of the year, was to beat imperious armies into 
bitter submission. Americans in France will go as a matter of course 
to the fields nearest Paris where our troops so distinguished them- 
selves. It was at Belleau that Marine forces, temporarily detached 
from the Navy and attached to the Second Division, were so heavily 
and heroically engaged, together with the other divisional elements, in 
June of 1918. It is particularly fitting that the War Department 
should retain this burial place, so firmly held in the affections and 
so baptized by the blood of the Army's sister service. The trip from 
Paris is made easily in a day by automobile or train, and ample hotel 
accommodations are available in Chateau-Thierry, a few miles from 
Belleau. At the cemetery, which now contains about 'i.OOO bodies, a 
small cottage has been erected by the Red Cross and is operated by two 




* 



40 



American Military Dead Overseas 41 

Y, "W. C. A. workers. A Red Cross automobile supplies local trans- 
portation. 

AVhen in late September from all the region about the Meuse and 
the Forest of Argonne a khaki host went forward to the attack 
which was to end only on the eve of the armistice, when every roadside 
sign was labeled " Nach Sedan," the dominating position of the 
enemy — as Montsec had been at St. Mihiel — was the great hulk of 
Montfaucon. Not far away was the modest village of Romagne sous 
Montfaucon. Now, on a gentle slope beside the gaunt ruins of the 
little town, 22,000 crosses mark the places of nearly half our dead 
in the zone of the armies. They lie in ground they themselves wrested 
from the enemy in the last month of fighting. 

Transportation facilities to Romagne are still inadequate and 
there are no commercial hotel accommodations in the immediate 
vicinity. But a combination of Army barracks, Red Cross equip- 
ment, and Y. W. C. A. personnel has resulted in the establishment 
of a comfortable hostess house, simple and unpretentious, but ade- 
quately able to supply food and lodging at nominal cost to parents 
visiting the cemetery. Two Red Cross automobiles are kept there 
and meet the trains each day at Dun-sur-Meuse, the nearest railroad 
station. 

The area actually occupied by graves at Romagne is approximately 
250 by 311 meters. The entire tract, inclusive of the grave plot, 
originally desired for American control, measures 690 by 899 meters. 
In all probability the size of the cemetery itself will not increase — the 
number of bodies removed to America will be larger than the num- 
ber to be moved into Romagne. Nevertheless, I recommend, pend- 
ing more definite developements as to the amount and design of 
buildings and landscaping involved in the Romagne project, that 
the War Department should not decrease the area intended to be in- 
cluded within the reservation, but should proceed to the acquisition 
of the larger tract. 

A large amount of work has been done at Romagne in the erection 
of barracks, the construction of walls and fences, the sowing of grass, 
the laying of gravel, the planting of flowers, and the installation of 
artificial drainage. Being five times the size of any other American 
cemetery in France, the work of construction and upkeep has pro- 
ceeded on a scale correspondingly greater than at other points. The 
remoteness of Romagne from French centers of population is not a 
sufficient deterrent to its retention. Railroad connection probably 
will be made with Dun, a few miles to the east; and at the cemetery 
relatives will find ample, if simple, living accommodations. Indeed 
a location of relative seclusion would be preferred by many persons 
as more befitting a city of the dead than a place near the much 



42 American Military Dead Overseas 

traveled paths of casual passers-by. The Americans who will have an 
interest in the white field at Roma<rne will have an interest also in 
the terrain round about, for which the men whose remains are there 
paid the full measure of devotion. Yerdun, Montfaucon, Grandpre, 
Sedan — these will have their place for all the years in the histor}^ 
texts of unl)orn <2:enerations. And those relatives and friends who 
will have occasion to visit the Field of Honor will wish no less to visit 
these other fields of honor which witnessed the last advance of the 
gallant ranks whose tents are spread on fame's eternal camping 
ground. 

VII. A WAR MEMORIALS COUNCIL. 

The parents and the families of those soldiers who will remain 
ahvays overseas can have no concern more near their hearts than the 
care and ornamentation of God's acre. But also among citizens, 
generally — among those whose family circles have not been touched 
by death in war — one need not go farther than the correspondence 
columns of newspapers, or the chance conversations of Pullman cars, 
to learn the universal and reverential interest that prevails with re- 
spect to the graves of the fallen. 

In ordei" that uniformity and perpetuity of attention may be as- 
sured, the guardianship over the remains of those who have " gone 
Avest '' must be primarily an official responsibility. But it nuist not 
be merely official. It must not be wholly the concern of any govern- 
mental bureau or department. It must not become dehumanized into 
administrative routine. Its contact Avitli tlie citizenship must be 
preserved and in some degree it must be a people's work. 

All that a government can do will seem incomplete and barren 
if it be not accompanied by some evidence of the tenderness and sym- 
pathy and understanding that is due from the nation at large to 
those of its number Avho did not come out from the valley of the 
shadow. 

That the A^'ar Department may be assured of the constant counsel 
and cooperation of representative citizens in the task of arranging 
for the permanent accommodation of American military dead abroad, 
I reconmiend that the Secretary of War appoint a Avar memorials 
council as an advisory commission on affairs concerning American 
military cemeteries overseas and such related matters as may be 
referred to it. If such a council be appointed. I suggest that it 
include representation from the National Fine Arts Commission, 
the American Institute of Architects, the American Forestry Asso- 
ciation, the seven affiliated welfare organizations, the American 
Ivcgion, the Xavy Dejiartment. the Quartermaster Corps (Cemeterial 
Division), and the Wav Plans l)i\ision of the (leneral Staff. The 



American Military Dead Overseas 43 



French Commission for JNIilitary Graves ineUides officials from a 
dozen governmental departments, the Institute of France, the Acad- 
emy of Medicine, etc. Great Britain's Imperial War Graves Commis- 
sion consists of representatives from the cabinet, delegates from the 
dominions, and a number of eminent civilian and military members, 
appointed by royal Avarrant. 

Within the council, I suggest that there be a committee on hostess- 
house service, consisting of delegates from the welfare organizations, 
and a committee on memorial and decorative art. 

To this council — preferably as small as possible — and its com- 
mittees, the War Department might properly look for guidance 
with respect to the design of headstones, statues, mausoleums, etc., 
the landscaping of cemeterial projects, and the providing of living 
accommodations for relatives visiting burial places, as Avell as for 
the permanent personnel employed there. 

Within the fields of honor I urge that thoroughgoing uniformity 
should prevail in the decoration of individual graves. Headstones 
of private design or markers individually decorative should not mar 
that equality to which the final sacrifice of the deceased has made them 
heir. 

But the States, military organizations, veterans' societies, welfare 
agencies, etc., will wish to commemorate in stone and metal the valor, 
devotion, and achievements of the individuals and organizations 
they espouse. In such cases, within or outside those cemeteries, 
where authority of the War Department exists, where its advice is 
asked or where its influence may be exerted — or indeed where State 
or local authorities may wish to secure the guidance of experienced 
and expert artistic judgment — the advice of the council's committee 
on memorial and decorative art should be invoked and followed. The 
country may thus be reasonably assured that the post-bellum statues 
and bidldings, erected by Federal initiative or concurrence will be free 
of inartistic types and unsuitable designs. 

However serviceable the War Memorials Council may be practi- 
cally, it is not less desirable, sentimentally. No mean honor would 
come to citizens called to membership on this council; for it is a 
proud distinction to have a part in the watch over those whose life 
went out in the service of the Republic. In years to come, pilgrims 
will not pass by those endless lines of markers without a resolve that 
the price they represent must not have been paid in vain. Given the 
reverential care they deserve, those white rows of headstones Avill 
carry inspiration and resolution to all the generations which will 
visit the spots 

\\'liei-e sleep the brave who sank to rest 
Kv all tlieir country's wishes Itlest. 



44 American Military Dead Overseas 



VIII. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Summarizing the suggestions made in these pages, I recommend : 

1. That Romagne, Belleau, and Suresnes be the permanent Ameri- 
can fiekls of honor in France. 

2. That bodies not requested to be returned from France (and. if 
possible, other p]uropean countries) be concentrated in the three 
locations named above. 

3. That the United States acquire perpetual rights for cemeterial 
purposes to a generous area (say, TOO by 900 meters) al)()Ut the Ko- 
rnagne cemeterial plot. 

4. That the American Commission on Military Remains be dis- 
solved, by reason of the completion of its ^vork. 

5. That headstones and markers be rigorously uniform and erected 
by the (xovernment. and that in the making of permanent plots there 
be no segregation into distinctive locations on the basis of rank. 

6. That an advisory War Memorials Council be appointed, having 
representatives from the several interested organizations and having 
committees on hostess houses and commemorative art designs. 

7. That the War Department procure the advice of the committee 
on commemorative art of the War Memorials Council in matters con- 
cerning the design of statuary or structures to be erected overseas 
under the authority or Avith the collaboration of the department, and 
that the cooperation of this committee be available for those com- 
nnmities or societies wishing to consult it concerning the form of pro- 
posed Avar memorials. 




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